Of the many aspects of Dwyane Wade's move to the Bulls last summer, none of them included more time lining up alongside Valentine, Portis and Zipser. And with so much smoke surrounding Jimmy Butler, an offseason fire sale hardly would be surprising.

Against that backdrop stands Wade's $23.8 million player option for next season. And beyond that backdrop stands rampant speculation of a player who seemingly was all about the money last summer.

Even if that music you hear in the background sounds like the prelude to a Dwyane Wade South Florida reunion, consider that Pat Riley just this past week said he remains in evaluation mode when it comes to Dion Waiters and James Johnson and this summer's $40 million(ish) Heat cap stash.

So how low does Wade go? Does he go low enough to allow for the math that Riley was computing last summer? Low enough that the dollars would be similar to what he could get to play alongside LeBron James with the Cavaliers? Close friend Chris Paul with the Los Angeles Clippers? Part of a Broadway bow out with Carmelo Anthony in New York?

Riley refused to allow sentiment to get in the way last summer. Will the same resolve remain in place during an even more important Heat offseason to avoid a Kobe 2.0 situation? Or will those $23.8 million walk Wade back to Chicago for one more season?

The Bosh Timing: In the midst of the trade-deadline dealing came word from Turner Sports of Chris Bosh's five-week limited engagement as a TNT studio host.

This also makes it the perfect time for Riley (or someone from the Heat) to pick up the phone this weekend and make peace with a player who has meant so much to the franchise. The last thing the Heat need, as they head back into recruitment mode this summer, is the type of nastiness that permeated Bosh's preseason videos.

Beyond that, there also is the element of opening an additional roster spot once Bosh is formally waived and the cap-removal process can begin.

While the buyout/waiver period already has delivered the likes of Deron Williams and Andrew Bogut to the market, for the Heat an available 15th roster spot could allow the team to either lock in a youthful prospect going forward (Marcus Georges-Hunt?Keith Benson?) or a playoff-eligible veteran for this playoff push (Marcus Thornton? Jared Sullinger?).

All the way up?: Somewhat lost amid Riley's informal media session after the deadline was this when it came to the team battling for a final playoff seed in the Eastern Conference:

"There'll probably be a point somewhere, if you get six, seven games behind that other things can happen."

The unspoken context was that if this playoff chase (that still seemingly will end south of .500) comes up short that the lottery implications will be reconsidered.

Only they can't. That ship sailed with the 13-game winning streak.

The fact that having it both ways still is even viewed as a possibility with so few games remaining shows just how unexpectedly and suddenly the winning arrived.

And this: "I'm excited about a playoff run, just as I would be excited about getting the first seed."

That was Riley when ostensibly discussing the push for the No, 8 playoff seed that had the Heat retaining the likes of Waiters, James Johnson and Wayne Ellington at the deadline.

This from the championship-or-misery icon.

Guess we all mellow at some point.

"Now," Riley continued, "we have bigger dreams here than that, but you take what you can at this level."

iwinderman@sunsentinel.com. Follow him at twitter.com/iraheatbeat or facebook.com/ira.winderman

IN THE LANE

RIO(-for-2): Make that two tryouts without an NBA offer, after the New Orleans Pelicans bypassed signing former Heat guard Mario Chalmersthis past week in favor of Hollis Thompson and then Jarrett Jack. Chalmers, who has been out of the league since tearing his Achilles last season while with the Memphis Grizzlies, previously had a tryout with the Cavaliers. Chalmers also had the Grizzlies monitor one of his workouts before the recent tryouts. "We'll see what's next," Chalmers told The Summer Podcast amid his tryouts. "I just want an opportunity. This is my first time being without basketball for this long. I've been playing basketball since I was two." The Heat would appear an unlikely landing spot for Chalmers due to the presence of Goran Dragic, Tyler Johnson and Josh Richardson. Among the reasons the Heat dealt Chalmers early in the 2015-16 season, in addition to trimming their luxury tax, was to open more time for Johnson, who since has been signed to a four-year, $50 million contract.

WADE'S WAY: That defensive indifference during last Sunday's NBA All-Star Game? Dwyane Wade said he just might have been the culprit in absentia, dating to when he broke the nose of Lakers guard Kobe Bryant during the 2012 game while representing the Heat. "That could have changed the landscape of competitiveness," he said. "Guys just want to come out of All-Star weekend healthy. That game was very, very competitive."

TANK TALK: Add Magic coach Frank Vogel to the list of those who understand why some value the tactic of tanking, but also why he refuses to be an active participant. "As a coach, you worry about one thing, and that's getting a group of guys that haven't won in five years to learn how to win," he told the Orlando Sentinel. "That's more important than any [drafted] player you can add. But I understand that perspective. That strategy has worked wonderfully for organizations, and it's failed miserably for organizations. It's a high-risk type of thing."

BIG MAC: The player formerly known as Sheldon McClellan, the former University of Miami guard who made it with the Washington Wizards this season as an undrafted free agent, used the All-Star break to formally change his name to Sheldon Mac. As he explained to multiple outlets, including CSN Mid-Atlantic, McClellan was the name of his biological father with whom he has had no relationship. With the approval of his mother he made the move, which he said he had held off on to avoid confusion during the draft-evaluation period. He said he bypassed his mother's last name of Johnson for Mac, because of the "swag" of the name and because friends had already referred to him as Mac. Now the question is how long until the confusion sets in with former Butler guard Shelvin Mack, who plays for the Utah Jazz.

LEN-ARD!: Yes, that is former Heat guard Voshon Lenard added to the list of those who have signed up to play in the Big 3 halfcourt league this summer. Also among the recent additions is former Heat guard Marcus Banks, joining former Heat players to previously to commit, such as Jason Williams, Rashard Lewis, Ricky Davis, Mike Bibby, Jermaine O'Neal, Smush Parker and Jamario Moon. The league's teams will tour as a group his summer starting June 24, with former Heat guard Gary Payton among those who have signed up to coach and former Heat guard Roger Mason Jr. to serve as commissioner.

NUMBER

22. Tenure Pat Riley has overseen the Heat front office, longest among NBA executives with the dismissal of Mitch Kupchak by the Los Angeles Lakers. Next longest are R.C. Buford (San Antonio Spurs) and Donnie Nelson (Dallas Mavericks), at 15 years.